Rachel Entrekin's Win is Just the Beginning. Now It's Your Turn. 🏃‍♀️

We’re all losing our minds over Rachel Entrekin’s Cocodona 250 performance (and her overall VIBES). And rightly so.

She took the lead after 60 (of 250) miles and never looked back. She cat-napped in the dirt for five-ish minutes at a time. She stopped to pet that dog. She finished with an outright win and an overall course record, then stuck around for hours to cheer on the other finishers. 🥹

I’ve been a women’s trail running advocate for a long time. (I co-direct a race just for women!) And I can tell you: I have never seen the world, especially women, this lit up about trail running. Rachel’s making massive physical and mental challenges feel possible in a way that trickles all the way down to first-timers who’ve never toed a start line.

Most of us will never run 250 miles. Most of us are not Rachel Entrekin, and we are never going to be, and that’s great, because what makes Rachel’s story so culturally explosive is not her splits. It’s her uncommon honesty, her willingness to call her shots, her stoke to spend a few extra precious seconds petting a dog, because, “priorities.”

It’s her bravery in talking publicly about her time in eating disorder treatment. It’s her admission that she’s spent too long adding a figurative “asterisk” to all her achievements, but she wants to stop downplaying her work. It’s her no-secrets, love-for-others attitude that makes her so relatable and admirable.

You don’t need to run 250 miles in 56 hours to develop that kind of storytelling.

This year, I created something I’m already damn proud of: the First 50k Sisterhood, a scholarship program through The Cairn Project where 15 women will run their first ultramarathon at Wild Woman Trail Runs in June. 💪

Rachel is returning to speak at Wild Woman this year(!). I especially cannot wait for these 15 women to hang with her IRL.

But I also want you to her these 15 women’s voices, because their stories can make as big an impact as Rachel’s stories. They’re making Big Things feel possible to other women. They’re showing the unglamorous truths that most media ignores. They’re not sponsored athletes, and they’re not podium-ing on world stages, but they’re exactly what women need to hear to step up to their own first start line.

^Proof that Rachel Entrekin knows I exist. (And she’s coming back to Wild Woman 2026!)

Jordan Griffin:

I remember being dead last in the 3200m, catching a ride in the back of my coach’s truck because I couldn’t finish a 3 mile workout, and constantly being injured.

Sometimes I wonder how I would’ve performed if I chose to feed myself.

My high school self ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast, skipped lunch, had practice after school on an empty stomach, came home and gorged on all of the snacks and dinner, then felt guilty about eating because it would make me gain weight.

As I train for my first ultramarathon, it hit me: I can be an example of someone who uses nutrition to fuel my body and participate in athletic endeavors without feeling the need to restrict my intake or alter my appearance to fit an image.

My high school self would be shook that I now eat a full breakfast before heading out for a run, followed by several snacks, lunch, dinner, as well as all the candy and energy chews I consume on the run itself.

I hope that through my actions, my daughter develops positive relationships with eating and physical activity that never need healing.

Jordan’s full post and fundraising page

Teresita Gonzalez

I’m running a 50K for a cause that means something to me. Getting to this point wasn’t some confident, immediate “yes.” It was filled with hesitation and going back and forth in my head.

Doubt hit: Is this too much? Am I actually ready for something like this? Road miles are one thing, but trails? Distance like this? Being out there that long? Trails aren’t easily accessible here in NYC.

Deep down, I already knew the answer: No, it’s not too much. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be uncomfortable. But I can do it.

My training doesn’t look clean and perfect. Sometimes it’s slower. Sometimes it’s heavier. Sometimes it’s just about getting it done because I’m not starting from zero when I run. I’m continuing from a full day on my feet as a chef.

Training is teaching me more than just endurance. It’s teaching me how to listen. To eat full meals, not just quick fixes. To drink more water than I think I need. To slow down and recover. To foam roll and ice bath even when I don’t feel like it.

I’m learning to give myself grace because my version of training isn’t going to look like everyone else’s, and that’s ok.

Teresita’s full post and fundraising page

Kara Marino

Running has always been a mental outlet for me, but I had no idea how to return to running postpartum. I was living in an entirely new body, and I had the worst mom guilt.

Motherhood’s been a constant balancing act between taking care of my children, myself, quality time with my husband, friendships, family relationships, house chores, life, and work. I was putting myself at the bottom of that list.

After my second baby, I didn’t want to fall back into putting myself last. Lessons from bedtime stories had stuck with me, a gentle reminder to pursue what lights me up. And for me, that means lacing up my running shoes and getting back on the trails.

Training for my first ultramarathon hasn’t been perfect. There’s been sickness, missed naps, and busy days that get away from me, but I’m continuing to show up for myself when I can.

Some days that means leaving a pile of laundry that needed to be folded, dishes in the sink, or one of many chores that needs to be done. I gave myself permission to push aside the mom guilt and trust that taking care of myself was just as important as taking care of everything else.

I’m learning how to fit training into my everyday life as a mom. Some days it’s stroller runs, treadmill runs during nap/quiet time, other days it’s a full family effort with my husband towing the kids in the bike trailer while I run alongside. Then there are the early mornings and long solo Saturday morning trail runs, time that is entirely mine again.

I’m not the same runner I was before motherhood, and I’m learning that I don’t need to be. But by showing up for myself and chasing goals that excite me, I hope that my kids know they can always chase what makes them light up.

Kara’s full post and fundraising page

Athlete storytelling shifts culture beyond sports.

We see it in Rachel and we see it in Jordan, Teresita, Kara, and the other 12 First 50k Sisterhood runners. We see it on the See Her Outside Podcast. We see it when a teenage athlete slides into your DMs to tell you your story about underfueling in high school made her realize she needs to eat more.

Most of the athletes I talk to will never win a 250 mile race. But all of them have the potential to change someone’s life by telling the truth. And that’s always been the whole point.

We don’t need more highlight reels. We need more women willing to pull back the curtain on their truest truths, in their truest voice, because somewhere out there is a woman who needs to hear that exact story before she signs up for a race or applies for a job or speaks up for herself.

Rachel Entrekin is giving women permission to dream bigger. The First 50k Sisterhood is what happens when women act on it. I can’t wait to see what stories develop over the next month. ❤️